I want to start off by saying this review is written from an ARC of Zenith that I was fortunate to get during my experience at BookCon 2017.
During my time at BookCon, Zenith was the one book that seemed to be the most talked about book and most wanted. I was lucky enough to not only get my hands on a copy, but to also have it signed by both authors. I felt like I had won the lottery. At the time I was currently reading another book, but once I finished it, I immediately grabbed Zenith and was ready to experience the amazingness that was hyped up for it. Well, I wasn't totally happy with the outcome.
Zenith has a plot line that almost seemed force to me. As a reader, I want to dive into a book and be completly immersed into it. It should flow and keep you captivated and wanting more. Description is so important in a book, it's what brings words on a page to life and create a world in your mind, but every paragraph and every chapter was overly described. Many times I found myself spacing out and wondering why certain things had an explanation and why it just went on and on and on. Because of this, I felt like the dialogue and thought process behind each character was severly lacking.
Talking about characters, one thing I really loved about this book was the sense of female empowerment and unity amongst a group of friends. Andi, the protagonist of the story, has a rough past and is now a space pirate with her group of friends Lira, Gilly and Becker. They are more than just friends, they are a family and each serve a strong and meaningful purpose not only on the ship but in Andi's life. The con about the characters? Was the matter of having too many POV's (Point of Views) Seriously, why is there more than 2 maybe 3 max point of views that arent necessary at all. We have:
- Androma (Andi)
- Dex
- Valen
- Lira
- Nor
- Klaren
It is just way too many. Even during someones chapter, a new paragraph would start, but it would be in the point of view of a different character. It got so confusing trying to understand who and what was happening. In my opinion, the book should have two parts, and at the start of each part should be Klaren's story. It could easily be broken down in a short story at the start than having it as segments of years as a whole chapter. That would help tie in Nor's whole plot line easier and create a smoother flow of the story line. I also think Valen as a character shouldn't have had the impact that he did, he could have made a full chapter appearance from his POV towards the end of the book maybe once or twice. I wouldn't have made him the prologue of the story. Lira is a main part of Andi's life and I totally understand her importance as a character but again, didn't see the reasoning behind her POV chapters. Why make Andi's core group three friends that all seem equally important, but then highlight only one of them and neglect the other two? This whole story should have been from Andi and Dex. Everything that was said from the other characters could have been described easily through them and It was kind of happening through Dex a bit towards the end and I really liked it a whole lot better compared to the way it was throughout the whole book.
I understand creating a whole outerspace world is difficult. There are different planets and solar systems and what not, but it got so overwhelming and confusing that it came to the point where I gave up trying to understand most of it. That's what I think the biggest problem with this book is. There is too much effort trying to create all these mini deatils to create a world where it should be about choosing the most important aspects of this world and really developing it in explanation. What I mean by that is, for example: pick three major planets and focus on them. If those are the planets the main characters or problems occur, create the world around that. It's okay to add detail about a neighboring moon or planet, but get descriptive about the environment on that planet (which I loved about Adhira but that's the only good example I could give) and what makes it prosperous or destructive etc. The authors wrote about too many planets and moons and systems that it seemed cluttered and just thrown out there. The reader knows that the setting is set in outer space, you can leave some things to our imagination to make up.
I know that this review is a bit harsh, but it's only beause of the hype this book has gotten. I was expecting so much more and feel let down and disappointed. I understand that an ARC isn't a finished piece, and that there will be grammatical errors ( but I love editing so I don't mind ) and let me say, there were a lot of them, but this story needs another look over and more editing and correcting. It is a solid story and I understand the basis of it and it's enticing but it need's a lot of cleaning up. Andi's thought process is too repetitive, Dex gives up too easily and for how he is described and his love for Andi, it doesn't make sense.
I love reading and I am only being tough because I see the potential in this book and want it to be great and hope my words are taken as constructive criticism and not hate.
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